Mount St.

Helens
By Tyler Stead

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Table of Contents
• The Eruption of Mount St Helens – Page 3
• Comparing & Contrasting Mount Vesuvius & Mount St. Helens - Page 4
• The Effects of the 1980 Eruption of Mount St. Helens – Page 5
• Natural Disasters & the Solutions We Have – Page 5
• Leading Up to The Disaster – Page 6
• Glossary – Page 7
• Questions – Page 8
• Answers – Page 9

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The Eruption of Mount St. Helens
 
Mount St. Helens erupted on May 18, 1980. It was
the largest volcanic eruption in North America. The
eruption of Mt. St. Helens exploded with the power of
ten million tons of dynamite. It had a massive blast
cloud. A blast cloud comes from an eruption. The
damage cost more than 1 Billion dollars to replace
everything that was destroyed. The ash from the
eruption circled around earth in about fifteen days.
Ash removal cost around 2.2 Million dollars. Fifty-
seven people were killed by the blast.
 

This is a picture of a volcano erupting

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 Comparing and Contrasting Mount St. Helens & Mount Vesuvius

People Dead Timeline

In the eruption of Mount St. Helens, 57 people died, Mount Vesuvius erupted on August 24, 79 AD. Mount St. Helens
but in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, 30,000 people
erupted on May 18, 1980.
died.
 

  Serious Eruptions
The last serious eruption of Mount St. Helens was
1980, and the last serious eruption of Mount
Vesuvius was in 1944.
Location
Mount Vesuvius is located in Pompeii, Italy. Mount St. Helens is located in
 
Cedar, Washington in the Cascade mountain range.
 
 
 
 

Pompeii is known for the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. When Vesuvius erupted, rocks started raining from the sky. A burning wind swept down from
Vesuvius and lots of homes were destroyed. Some people were killed from the burning wind, and others were killed by falling craters, and even others
were killed by lava, which was raining from the sky like fire.

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Mount St. Helens Smoking
The Effects of the 1980 Eruption of Mount
St. Helens
Mount St. Helens erupted on May 18, 1980 after a 5.1
magnitude earthquake. The eruption affected the environment
increasing the size of a lake, Spirit Lake. Thousands of trees
and animals were killed because of the eruption. 57 people
died because of the blast. The forest was seared lifeless. The
ash fell over 7 states. The ash prevented planes from flying
over the Northwest Region of the United States.
 
Natural Disasters and The Solutions We
Have
 A natural disaster is defined as a natural event such as a
flood, hurricane, tornado, drought, tsunami, volcanic
eruption, or earthquake that causes great damage or loss of
life.
We have developed early warning systems, like
seismographs, tornado alarms, and tsunami alarms so that we
know when a natural disaster is close to occurring or about to
occur. Humans can build stronger houses, which helps during
earthquakes.
To be prepared, you can create an emergency supplies kit. For
your emergency supplies kit, you’ll want water, ready to eat
food, canned juices, flashlights and extra batteries, a first aid
kit, matches in a waterproof container, a signal flare, rain
gear, and change or cash.
 
The Red Cross and other organizations help when people get
injured in natural disasters.
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Leading Up to The Disaster

Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980, devastating many people

and the ecosystem. These are the events that happened before
the eruption.
 
First, the north side of the mountain bulged. The bulge
extended more than 400 feet north. Then, a landslide fell into
Spirit Lake. The landslide dammed the lake. 10,000
earthquakes were recorded on the seismometer.
 
Explosions of steam started to come out of the mountain.
 
The governor declared that anyone within 8 miles of the
mountain would face a $500 fine or half a year of prison.
People started to evacuate. Then the volcano erupted,
knocking down thousands of century old trees, and killing
thousands of animals.
 
  Mount St. Helens (Eruption, Recovery) - Kim Jiu-Jitsu Academy
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 Glossary
Blast Cloud – A blast cloud is water, carbon dioxide, and sulfur dioxide that comes out of a volcano when it
erupts. Sulfur dioxide combined with water molecules create sulfuric acid, which hurts the ozone layer protecting
the earth from the sun’s heat.
 
Cascade Mountain Range – The Cascade Range is a 700 mile line of mountains that includes Mount
St. Helens. It is mostly covered by forest. The summits on the Cascade Mountain Range are almost all extinct
volcanoes.
 
Spirit Lake – Spirit Lake was once covered in ash because of the eruption of Mt. St Helens, but now it is a
beautiful lake.
 
Natural Disaster – a natural event such as a flood, hurricane, tornado, drought, tsunami, volcanic
eruption, or earthquake that causes great damage or loss of life.
 
The Red Cross – Founded by Clara Barton. It is an organization that helps people in disasters like war or
natural disasters. It is funded by donations.
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Questions:
 
1) How many people died because of the eruption of Mount St. Helens?
2) When did the eruption of Mount St. Helens happen?
3) What is the Red Cross?
4) The eruption of Mount St. Helens erupted with the power of __ tons of dynamite.
5) How much money did it take to repair the damage that was done when Mount St. Helens erupted?
6) Where was Mount Vesuvius located?
7) When did Mount Vesuvius erupt?
8) How many people died in the famous eruption of Mount Vesuvius?
9) What is the Cascade Mountain Range?
10) Where is Mount St. Helens located?
 
 
Answers on page 9
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Answers:
1. 57
2. May 18, 1980
3. An organization that helps during disasters
4. 10 million
5. 1 Billion dollars
6. Pompeii, Italy
7. 79 AD
8. 30,000
9. The Cascade Range is a 700 mile line of mountains that includes Mount St. Helens. It is mostly covered
by forest. The summits on the Cascade Mountain Range are almost all extinct volcanoes.
10. Washington State, USA